Pages

Wednesday, 28 May 2014

In case you’re new to WUW, it’s a blog hop created by
my sister Jaime and me, intended to help writers keep in touch with one another. If you’d like to participate,
please sign up on the linky below, and be sure to spread some writerly
encouragement around to at least a few other people taking part. Also, please remember to link back to our
host blogs and/or use one of the WUW buttons. Thanks!

What I’m Reading:

I’m about a quarter of the way through Mystic City by Theo Lawrence. Reading
time has been rare lately, so I’m working through this one in fits
and spurts. The unique version of Manhattan in this story is proving to be an
interesting setting so far.

What I’m Writing:

This week, I revised eight scenes, which wrapped up
Act 2 of my WIP. Now I’m in the middle of one of my
favorite scenes. Pardon me while I squeal a bit. I'm hoping that maybe, perhaps, possibly I might be done round two of revisions sometime in the next couple weeks. That should be feasible, but we'll see.

What Inspires Me Right Now:

Check out those pasty legs!

On Sunday, my husband ran his fifteenth marathon and
placed 3rd! He’s been aiming to break into the top three at our
provincial marathon for a long time now, and he finally did it. He also
finished with his best time ever, 2:50:39. For the record, running 26 miles/42k in less than three hours is fast. Of
course, I was screaming my head off because I was so excited to see him coming
down the homestretch in third place. All right, all right, I scream my head off no
matter how he ranks, but this time was special.

My son ran the 10k race in 53:55 and placed 172nd out of 1229 people, most of whom were adults. He inherited his dad’s passion
for running and is hoping that maybe next year he can do his first half
marathon.

I’ve compared running and writing in blog posts before,
because both require practice, dedication, and perseverance. Watching my boys put their training into effect
makes me incredibly proud and inspires me to apply the same passion and
persistence to my writing.

Look! It's a teapot tree!

What Else I’ve Been Up To:

Working on more curriculum, going for coffee with the
in-laws, getting a crap ton of housecleaning done, going for supper at our
favourite 1950s diner, visiting our favourite coffee & tea shop which
happens to be just down the street from said diner, Skyping with Jaime, watching
Ender’s Game and loving it even more
the second time.

Wednesday, 21 May 2014

In case you’re new to WUW, it’s a blog hop created by
my sister Jaime and me, intended to help writers keep in touch with one another. If you’d like to participate,
please sign up on the linky below, and be sure to spread some writerly
encouragement around to at least a few other people taking part. Also, please remember to link back to our
host blogs and/or use one of the WUW buttons. Thanks!

What I’m Reading:

This is the first time in a while that I’ve gobbled up
a book so quickly. It was a little too easy to put down the last several novels
I’ve read, but If I Lie by Corrine
Jackson kept me up way past my already late bedtime. I had to find out if Quinn would be vindicated in the end. The
characters in If I Lie were real and
frustrating and often cruel. Quinn was a strong mc trying to maintain her
integrity in an incredibly tough situation. She actually has a couple big
things in common with my own mc, which could be partly why I liked her so much.
While this book wasn’t the type to be tied up perfectly with a bow, I’m so glad
I finally got around to reading it.

Now I’ve started Mystic
City by Theo Lawrence.

What I’m Writing:

I got five scenes revised this week. Not bad, but I was hoping to
get a bit more done. Things have been super busy around here though, plus it was a
long weekend which meant more family time and less being glued to the laptop.

What Inspires Me Right Now:

Honestly? Being busy. When I’m up to my eyeballs in
other tasks, I find myself craving time to write.

Okay, so I don’t talk about this much online, because
people tend to act like we have leprosy when I do, but in case you were
wondering what my day job is (and haven’t checked out my About Me page) I
actually homeschool my son (For the record, we think teachers are great and
schools are necessary, we believe in social skills, and our son has a choice in
the matter). I won’t get into all our reasons for choosing an alternate form of
education (there are many) but will mention that flexibility and more time for
family and reading are big factors. So why did I bring this up now? Because I’ve
been buried under an avalanche of curriculum planning and report writing
lately. May is my busiest time of year, and this May has been especially insane.
The fun part in all of this? Buying TONS of books, of course! We take a very eclectic
approach to homeschooling and use all sorts of amazing resources rather than
purchasing set curriculum. It’s a lot more work for me but definitely worth the
effort. So when I’m not writing, this is what I spend much of my time on. In
this house, LIFE = BOOKS.

As for the rest of my week, my hubby and I celebrated
our wedding anniversary with a delicious Italian dinner, wine, and chocolate cheesecake.
We also watched Nick & Nora’s Infinite
Playlist this weekend (pretty darn funny) and discovered The Bletchley Circle, a fabulous British
show about female code breakers post WWII that use their logic skills to solve
crimes. If you haven’t seen it and like historical dramas, I highly recommend
it.

Now that the weather is finally nice, I’ve been
going for walks with my son and our dog, Holly, instead of trudging away on the
treadmill. Must work off all the pasta, focaccia and French bread I scarfed
down this weekend. I also Skyped with Jaime and did some sweater shopping, because a girl needs
something pretty to wear with her nerd shirts, right?

Wednesday, 14 May 2014

In case you’re new to WUW, it’s a blog hop created by
my sister Jaime and me, intended to help writers keep in touch with one another. If you’d like to participate,
please sign up on the linky below, and be sure to spread some writerly
encouragement around to at least a few other people taking part. Also, please remember to link back to our host blogs and/or use one of the WUW buttons. Thanks!

What I’m Reading:

I finished The
Thousand Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham. While it didn’t
measure up to the show (how could it?) I’m looking forward to reading the next
installment in the Veronica Mars series, assuming there is one.Now I don’t know what to read, and that has nothing to
do with lack of choice. I’m just having a bit of trouble narrowing it down. We shall see…

What I’m Writing:

This week, I revised five scenes and I’m smack in the
middle of my WIP now. Lots of high-paced action and doing terrible things to my
characters. Mwahahaha!

What Inspires Me Right Now:

Cool scientific innovations. (see below)

What Else I’ve Been Up To:

It’s been a big ol’ nerdfest around here lately.

I’ve been enjoying my Mother’s Day gift, which I
affectionately refer to as the “Tron Kettle,” because it glows blue when it boils water and looks like something out of The
Grid. You know that old saying, “a watched pot never boils?” Well some inventor
clearly took that to heart and made this a fun kettle to watch. It may be the
coolest appliance ever, and I’m glad my boys picked up on the hint that I
wanted it (okay, so the hints were pretty blatant). Now I don't just make tea, I make sci-fi tea.

This week we went on a fieldtrip to the Canadian Light
Source National Synchrotron Research Facility, which is basically science geek
heaven. In case you’ve never heard of a synchrotron before, it’s a particle
accelerator that uses light to study the microstructure of materials down to
the atomic level. This thing accelerates electrons at over 99% the speed of
light! How freaking cool is that?! Our synchrotron in Saskatoon is the
brightest in the world, which means it gives the clearest results. It’s
actually 1 million times brighter than sunlight. Some incredible medical and
environmental innovations are being made with the synchrotron. We’re talking
new treatments like nanomaterials that travel into the brain to destroy tumors or ways that phytoplankton could be used to capture carbon dioxide and fight global warming. Amazing stuff. As you can tell, it was a very informative fieldtrip and one that could inspire
shiny new story ideas.

On Mother’s Day we went to see The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and, no surprise, we enjoyed it a lot.
Andrew Garfield was predictably adorable. For any of you Avengers fans, this
weekend the hubby and I tried an awesome craft beer called “Thor’s Hammer.” Definitely
getting that one again. There was also the usual book shopping, and I managed
to score a sweet pile of books from the bargain section, at least four of which
were on my TBR list.

Well, those are a few of the fun things I did this
week. What have you been up to?

Thursday, 8 May 2014

There are several reasons why I'm excited to be part of the cover reveal for More Than Music today. The premise sounds captivating and unique. I can already feel the tension brewing in this one. The cover is gorgeous and promises a swoonworthy read. But perhaps the biggest reason is because it's written by Elizabeth Briggs, who was my Pitch Wars Mentor this past winter. Elizabeth is a writer who generously gives her time to the writing community and her advice to those lucky enough to have the chance to work with her. She knows her stuff, and she's an author deserving of huge success!

More Than Music (Chasing the Dream #1) is a NA contemporary and will be released on June 17, 2014. Check out the synopsis:

Music major Maddie Taylor seems to have her life all figured out. She’s just
finished her junior year of college, has a summer internship lined up with the
LA Philharmonic, and plans to go to grad school to write movie scores. Only her
roommates know she practices guitar every night and secretly dreams of a louder
life. But geeky girls like her don’t get to be rock stars.Tattooed
singer Jared Cross has a new girl every week, but when he catches Maddie playing
one of his songs, she attracts his attention in an unexpected way. His band
needs a fourth member for The Sound, a reality TV show competition—and he wants
her. Though Maddie refuses to be another notch on Jared’s bedpost, she agrees to
risk everything for the chance to be a rock star.Once on the show,
Maddie discovers there’s more to Jared behind his flirty smile, and with each
performance their attraction becomes impossible to ignore. When the show
pressures Jared to flaunt his player image, they’re forced to keep their
relationship secret, but Maddie can’t help but want something real.As
the competition heats up, Jared will do whatever it takes for his band to win,
and Maddie must decide if following her dream is worth losing her heart.

Here's a bit more about Elizabeth:

Elizabeth Briggs is a full-time geek who writes books for teens and adults.
She plays the guitar, mentors at-risk teens, and volunteers with a dog rescue
group. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and a pack of small,
fluffy dogs.

If More Than Music catches your interest, you can add it to your Goodreads TBR shelf here. Click the pic to the left if you'd like to see a larger view of the entire cover. And most importantly, remember to get your copy of More Than Music on June 17th!

Wednesday, 7 May 2014

In case you’re new to WUW, it’s a blog hop created by
my sister Jaime and me, intended to help writers keep in touch with one another. If you’d like to participate,
please sign up on the linky below, and be sure to spread some writerly
encouragement around to at least a few other people taking part.

What I’m Reading:

This has been a crazy busy week, so I’m still reading
the first Veronica Mars novel, The
Thousand Dollar Tan Line. So far I’m enjoying it, but it doesn’t beat the
show. Just to let any other “marshmallows” who might be interested in reading
this know, the book takes place right after the movie, so make sure you see the
movie first before picking this up.

What I’m Writing:

I revised nine scenes this week, and I’m coming up to
the halfway mark on round two of revisions.
I’m sure there will be many more rounds after this one, but for now I’m
reminded of just how much I love these characters, the themes in their tale,
and the world they live in.

What Inspires Me Right Now:

The power of true stories. (see below)

What Else I’ve Been Up To:

I’ve mentioned on a couple occasions that my son is
learning about World War II this year. Well, this past Thursday, we had the opportunity
to hear Robbie Waisman, a Holocaust survivor, share his story. Mr. Waisman was fourteen, the same age as my
son, when he was liberated from Buchenwald. I won’t recount everything he said
here, but let me tell you that hearing him speak was incredibly moving. My son
read a lot of books about WWII this year, both fiction and non-fiction, but
none of them could compare to listening to Mr. Waisman talk about his
experience in person. It had a profound impact on both of us. Mr. Waisman
opened by saying that he wasn’t telling the kids his story to make them sad but
to empower them, and I think he did just that. It’s stories like his that need
to be passed on to future generations.

We also attended a 90th birthday party for
my husband’s grandma on Sunday, went for coffee with the in-laws, did some
Mother’s Day shopping, and lots of other stuff that made the week fly by but
isn’t thrilling enough to mention. Honestly, spring hits here and it’s like the
clock speeds up all of a sudden. There’s way too much to cram into our good
weather window!

Also, stay tuned tomorrow for the cover reveal of More Than Music by Elizabeth Briggs, Pitch Wars mentor extraordinaire! If you're interested in NA contemporary, you won't want to miss this!